Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock-therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.

Synopsis:

The runaway national bestseller now becomes a motion picture starring Annette Bening and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Ryan Murphy

Synopsis:

After Augusten Burroughs was adopted by his mother's shrink at age 13, his childhood took a turn for the bizarre with electroshock machine fun and games; month-long family/patient sleep-overs on the front lawn; a physician-assisted fake suicide attempt to get excused from school forever; a pedophile living in the barn; Lithium, Valium, and Halcyon eaten like candy...and much more. Running with Scissors is a shocking, amazing, and outrageously funny coming-of-age memoir readers will never forget.

Synopsis:

"OUTRAGEOUSLY AMUSING."

--Entertainment Weekly

"COMPELLING."

--USA Today

"BREATHTAKING."

--Tampa Tribune

THINK YOUR CHILDHOOD WAS WEIRD?

ENTER THIS TWELVE-YEAR-OLD'S WACKY WORLD...

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year-round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull, an electroshock therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances...

"Promotes visceral responses (of laughter, wincing, retching) on nearly every page...funny and rich with child's-eye details of adults who have gone off the rails."

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What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

dylinsmom040304, May 30, 2007 (view all comments by dylinsmom040304)
Running with Scissors is a memoir that tells the story of a young boy who is sent to live with his mother's very unusal physiatrist and his equally unusal family. From falling in love, to eating dog food, this book covers the pre teen years of Augusten as he learns who he is and how to cope with his past, present and future. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's very real and also very entertaining. This book can be very expicit at times, so those with a week constitution shouldn't read it. For all others, make sure you have plenty of time, because once you start, you won't be able to put it down. I wouldn't reccomend seeing the movie if you enjoyed to book.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(16 of 33 readers found this comment helpful)

The runaway national bestseller now becomes a motion picture starring Annette Bening and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Ryan Murphy

"Synopsis"
by akemi@powells.com,
After Augusten Burroughs was adopted by his mother's shrink at age 13, his childhood took a turn for the bizarre with electroshock machine fun and games; month-long family/patient sleep-overs on the front lawn; a physician-assisted fake suicide attempt to get excused from school forever; a pedophile living in the barn; Lithium, Valium, and Halcyon eaten like candy...and much more. Running with Scissors is a shocking, amazing, and outrageously funny coming-of-age memoir readers will never forget.

"Synopsis"
by Netread,

"OUTRAGEOUSLY AMUSING."

--Entertainment Weekly

"COMPELLING."

--USA Today

"BREATHTAKING."

--Tampa Tribune

THINK YOUR CHILDHOOD WAS WEIRD?

ENTER THIS TWELVE-YEAR-OLD'S WACKY WORLD...

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year-round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull, an electroshock therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances...

"Promotes visceral responses (of laughter, wincing, retching) on nearly every page...funny and rich with child's-eye details of adults who have gone off the rails."

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